Machine for attaching latches to latch knitting needles



G. W. MAYO Oct. 22, 1929.

MACHINE FOR ATTACHING LATCHES TO LATCH KNITTING NEEDLES 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. 20, 1928 G. W. MAYO Cet. 22, 1929.

MACHINE FOR ATTACHING LATGHES To LATCH KNITTING NEEDLES Filed Jan. 20, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 NQ\ ////////M IIIIIIIHIl Oct. 22, 1929. G, w. MAYO MACHINE FOR ATTACHING LATCHES To LATCH KNITTING NEEDLES 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 20, 1928 G. W. MAYO Oct. 22, 1929.

MACHINE FOR ATTACHING LATCHES TO LATCH KNITTING NEEDLES Filed Jan. 20, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 0009900000 QOOOQ Oct. 22, 1929. G. w. MAYO MACHINE FOR ATTACHING LATCHES TO LATCH KNITTING NEEDLES Filed Jan. 20, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 @Q 4 Mm W il erw .M www y A//e'ys 5S. @s mui.

Patented lGet. 22, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE W. MAYO, OF LACONIA, NEW HAMPSHIRE Application led January 20, 1928. Serial No. 248,094.

This invention aims to provide a machine for attaching latches to latch knitting machine needles.

In the accompanying drawings is shown an illustrative embodiment of the invention,

wherein: f u

Fig. 1 is a plan View of the machine. Fig. 2 is a right hand side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the irregular line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional elevation taken substantially on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a detail plan section taken on .the line 6 6 of Fig. 5 showing the clamping head in clamping position in dotted lines.i

Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail section of the operating end of the needle feeding screw and retarding cam.

Fig. 9 is a detail plan of the needle clamp- `-5 ing members. t

Fig. l() is a longitudinal plan section through the pivoted end of a latch and theadjacent portion of the needle stem with a pivot pin in place ready to be operated upon by the 110 machine of this invention.

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. l0 showing the completion of the first step in the latch securing operation.

Fig. 12 is a similar View showlng the second step; and

Fig, 13 shows the last step with latch fully secured in place in the needle stem.

Fig. 14 is an enlarged detail horizontal section throughl dies and punches showing a 10 modified form of die. i

Fig. 15 is an enlarged detail horizontal section showing another form of punch, and

Fig. 16 is an enlarged plan of the blank formed by the punch of Fig. 15.

5 '1 The particular embodiment of this 1nvention selected for purposes of illustration, and

shown in the drawings, represents a machine particularly adapted for performing the several steps required in riveting and brazing 5 the pivot pins of latches of machine knitting needles into their needle bodies. This machine comprises a base or frame member 1 upon which the various mechanisms of the machine are carried. In the present example there are two such mechanisms A and B.

The mechanisiirA is arranged to receive a needle body havin-g a latch pivot pin inserted loosely through the latch but relatively tightly through the body, and protruding slightly at opposite ends beyond the outer faces of said body. Having properly positioned the needle in respect to the mechanism A, the said mechanism proceeds to apply to the protruding ends of the pivot pin a suitable brazing element or solder, which thereafter, upon movement of the needle to the mechanism B, is fused by heat, and pressure is applied to upset and braze the ends of said pin solidly to the needle body, thereby forming a durable and permanent connection for said pins which will not work loose by wear, nor catch upon fibers of the yarn during the knitting operations.

In order that this invention may be readily understood, attention is now directed to Figs. 10 to 13 inclusive showing the latch pivot pin and adjacent portions of a latch needle in their progressive relations.

In Fig. l() the pivoted end 2 of the latch 3 is shown loosely mounted upon a pivot pin and within the usual slot or eye 5 formed in the body 6 of the knitting needle. The pin 4 is slightly longer than the hole 8 within which` said pin is inserted, thereby causing opposite ends of said pin,to protrude beyond the sides of the needle body. The projecting portions of said pin are, however, of sufcient length to provide just enough metal to expand and lill the hole 10 in the latch and also the tapered outer portions 12 ofthe holes 8 in the needle body not occupied by the rings 12 of brazing material, when said pin is later heat-- ed and compressed.

Fig. 10 shows the latch pivot pin 4 loosely inserted through the latch 3 but rather tightly fitting the holes 8 with its ends protruding. This being the condition of said needle and its parts when presented to the present machine.

Figs. 11 and 12 show the two steps in the pin securing operations performed respec tively by the mechanisms A and B, and Fig. 13 illust-rates the fully completed needle after the ends of the brazed pin have been finished oft' ready for use.

After the needle parts have been assembled, as shown in Fig. 10, the needle is presented to the machine herein described preferably to needle feeding means. which feeding means desirably comprises a rotatable member 14 provided with a helical groove 16 (see Figs. 1. 3, 5 and The groove 16 is approximately the dept-h and width of lthe needle stem. The needles being placed in said grooves. as shown mosti clearly in Fig. 5, with opposite ends of said needles supported upon bars 18 and 19 arranged parallel with the axis of the member 14.

A group of needles is shown at C, Fig. 1. in their startingpositions. and upon rotation of the feed member 14` said needles will be advanced along the guides 18 and 19 in the direction of the arrow C to the mechanism A, said needles being placed one at a time in the groove 16 as fast as required, or as fast as the needles move away from the receiving end of the member 14. i

The member 14 is rotatably mounted in bearings 20 and 22 carried by the frame 1. Axial movement of said member is controlled by a collar 24 secured to rotate with said member 14. The collar 24 has a peripheral cam groove 26 working within which is a follower pin 28 rigidly secured to an abutment carried by the frame 1 of the machine.

The helical groove 16 and the cam `groove 26 cooperate to produce a differential action in that the rotation of the member 14 and cam 24 effectthe gradual advancement of the needles in said groove 16 along the guides 18 and 19 from the receiving point C toward the mechanism A. but during each rotation of said member 14 a relatively quick axial movement is given to said member, in a direction toward the receiving point, due to the rise 32 in the cam groove 26, whereupon the feeding movement of the needles is momentarily interrupted. This interruption or intermittent feeding provides time for the mechanisms A and B to perform their operations upon needles aligning therewith, which operations will now be described.

As the needles are placed one at a time in the groove 16, the butt ends thereof are brought back against a short rear guard rail 36, and by rotating the feed member 14 in the direction of the arrows, (Figs. 3 and 5) the needles will be pressed constantly, by reason of the friction of said member 14, against said guard rail. The guard rail 36 extends only a short distance along the path of the needles, and at its end the needles are thrown back by the friction of said rotating member 14, against a second guide rail 38 extending substantially the length of the supports 18 and 19. .lust before the needles leave said back rail 36, they pass beneath an upper guard rail 40, which also extends substantially to the ends of the supports 18 and 19, and serves to depress the needles and prevents them from working up out of the groove 1 6.

The needles continue to feed along-the supports 18 and 19 and rear guide rail 38 in continuous series. until they arrive at a position in front of the mechanism A. At this point, superimposed upon the rail 38, I provide means for moving needles from said guiding members to and from the mechanism A, said means herein including a slide 42 arranged normally with its forward end just back of or to the left, as viewed in Fig. 5. of the edge of the rail 38 against which t-he needle butts are in contact. The needle butts 44 project above the rear rail 38 directly in front of the slide 42. which has its forward end notched at 46 which, upon forward movement of said slide, receives said needle butts 44 and centralizes the needle.

The slide 42 has an auxiliary slide 48 mounted to slide in a groove 50 formed longitudinally in the upper face of the slide 42, said auxiliary slide 48 being held in said groove by a plate 52 clamped in place by a screw 54 which passes downward through an elongated slot 56 in the slide 48 and into engagement with the main slide 42. The forward end of the slide 48 has a downwardly projecting finger 58 notched at 60 to engage the forward edge of the needle butt 44, which has stopped in front of said slide. The finger 58 normally stops at a distance from the notched end 46 of the main slide 42, thereby providing ample space for the needle butt to enter between said slide end 46 and said finger as itpasses along the needle guides. The slide 48 carries an upwardly projecting pin 62 to which is attached one end of a spring 64. The other end of said spring engages a pin 66 carried by the slide 42, thus tending at all times to close the jaws 46 and 60 upon the needle butt 44, but just before the slide 42 reaches its fully retracted position, the pin 62 of the auxiliary slide 48 strikes an abutment 68, stopping said slide and extending the spring 64. The slide 42 continues to retract until it reaches its rea-rmost position as shown Vin Fig. 5, thus opening the jaws for the reception of a new needle butt.

The abutment 68 is adjustably mounted in an arm 7 0 secured to the frame 1 of the machine.

In the present example the slide 42 is adjustably secured at its rear end to an arm 72 extending upward from one end of a cross bar 74 (see Figs. 1 and 2) carried by a slide 76. The slide 76 is arranged to reciprocate in bearings 78 and 80 supported upon the frame 1. At the rear of the machine the slide 76 has an arm 82 extending upwardly and carrying at its upper end a cam follower 84 which engages a properly shaped cam surface 86 formed upon a cam 88 secured to the shaft 90. A spring 92 attached at one end to the slide 76 and at its other end to the frame 1.` or any otherl fixed point, maintains the cam follower 84 always in contact with the periphery of its cam. s

Upstauding from the other end of the crossl bar 71is a second arm. 72 carrying at its upper end a second needle displacing slide and butt jaws, herein alike in substandlially all respects to the slides 42, 48 and jaws 46 and 58 herein-before described, and this second needle displacing means is arranged in alignment with the mechanism B.

The two needle'displacing means are operated simultaneously by the cam 88, during the interruption in the movements of said needles along the guides 18 and 19, to move needles out of the main feed line into operative positions to be operated upon by the mechanisms A and B, and at the completion of said operations to return said needles to their former positions in said main feed line,

after which the needles are advanced along said main feed line, and the next or succeeding needles similarly acted upon.

Coordination of the needle feeding movements of the member 14 and the needle displacing members 42 and 58 is effected from the shaft 90 through means herein including a worm gear 91 secured to said shaft 90 an in mesh with a worm 94 upon a shaft 96 arranged substantially at right angles to the shaft 90. and journalled to rotate in bearings 98 on said frame 1.

The shaft 96 cariies a second"worm 100 meshing with a worm gear 101 secured to the end of the helically grooved member 14. By properly proportioning the said worms and the worm gears meshing therewith, the two shafts 14 and 90 may be rotated at the relative speeds desired.

`The shaft 96 which herein is the driving shaft for the machine may obviously receive its power from any suitable source not herein shown.

The needles to be operated upon by the mechanisms A and B are placed upon the feed member 14 with their latch ends toward said mechanisms (see Fig. 5) and in close proximity thereto, thus requiring but relatively slight movement of said needles to and from the main feed line.

The mechanism A which as hereinbefore stated is for applying solder or brazing material to the latch pivot pins, is herein shown, particularly in Figs. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 9, as comprising a pair of dies 102, spaced apart to provide an opening 103 of suflicient width to admit between them the latch needle 6 and pivot pin 4 (see Fig. 10).

The dies 102 are secured in a square die holder 104, the latter being carried in a block 105 adjustably supported upon a bracket 106 secured by screws 107 to the frame 1, said adjustment permitting said dies 102 to be moved vertically with respect to the surface of the guides upon which the. needles are fed, to take care of needles of different sizes, and thus insure perfect alignment between the recesses 108 in said dies 1.02 and the latch pivot pins of the needle inserted between said dies.

Slidably arranged adjacent to the outer face. of each die 102 is a punch 109. The ends of the punches toward said dies are reduced in diameter to substantially lit into the recesses 108 of the dies.

'lheI operative. ends of the punches 109 are normally held in spaced relation to the outer .faces of the dies, as shown most clearly in Fig. 9, by springs 111 arranged in recesses 112 parallel with said punches, said springs acting upon plungers 1123 secured at 110 to said punches so as to operate therewith.

Extending downwardly close to theouter face of each die is a strip of solder or soldering flux s of selected thickness and fed from suitable reels. 114 rotatably supported upon shafts 115 carried in brackets 116 mounted upon the bracket-.106.

The punches 109 are moved toward their dies 102 at the proper times in the operations of the mechanism by levers 117 pivoted at 118 upon the frame 1. The forward ends of the levers engage the rear ends of the punches 103 while the rear ends of said levers are provided with cam followers 119 respectively engaging the cam surfaces 120 of cams 121.. The cams 121 are secured upon the shaft 90 with their cam surfaces directed outwardly, or away from each other, and are arranged to operate the levers 117 simultaneously against their respective punches to face said punches into said dies. As the punches pass through the solder strips s, blanks of solder will be punched from said strips and be pushed along by the ends of the punches through the dies and cause said blanks to be impalcd upon the protruding ends of the pivot pin as shown in Fig. 11. Recesses 122 are formed in the ends of said punches to receive the ends of the pivot pin, and insure said blanks being pushed far enough on the pins to engage the sides of the needle body. (See Fig. 11.) The bottoms of said recesses 122 also engage the ends of saidpin 4fand position the pin symmetrically in the needle body.

By punching holes in the blanks with the p-in ends during said impaling operations,`

no material will be removed from said blanks, but instead a ragged hole will be formed therein, causing the rough edges of said holes to grip the pivot pin hard enoughy to overcome the friction of the kwalls of the recesses in the punches and thus prevent said blanks from being withdrawn from the pin with the punches.

During the aforesaid punching operations,

the cud ol' the needle being operated upon is desirably firmly gripped herein by means consisting of spring closed jaws 123, see Fig. i), which straddle and slide upon the edge ol a table 124.close up to the dies 102. The table 124 is secured/to and forms an eXtension of the needle'guide 18. A spring 125 is stretched between pins 126 arranged at the outer ends of the jaws 123 to contract said jaws.

The jaws 123 are opened at the proper time to release one needle, and to receive another, by means of hooks 127 secured respectively to the ends of the levers 117, which hooks herein eng:.gc the upwardly projecting ends of the pins 126. (See Fig. 9.)

',lhe followers 119 of the levers 117 are held in contact with the cam surfaces l2() by a spring 128 stretched across between the ends of said levers. Outward swinging of the ends of the levers 117 engaging the punches v109 under the action of springs 112 is prevented by the cams 121.

The strips of solder are desirably automatically fed to the punches by means of spring actuating fingers 128 pivoted at 129 to opposite sides of a. feed lever 130. The forward end of the lever 130 passes between the solder strip and the fingers 128 are forced against said strips with said lever as a backing, by the spring 131 tending to spread the tails of said lingers. The lever 130 is pivoted to rock about a horizontal pivot 132 under the action of a cam 133 shown dotted in Fig. 2, and a spring 134 moves said lever in an opposite direction. Friction of the fingers against the strips of solder is sufficient to feed said strips as the lever 13 is rocked by the cam` 133, such feeding taking place when the punches are withdrawn from the strips, but new bites by the fingers upon said strips, preparatory to the next feeding action, is obtained while the punches are penetrating the strips s and the dies 102, and take place just as the cam 133 passes from under the follower 135 of the lever 130, permitting the spring 134 to slide said lingers upwardly along the strips s.

Following the impaling of the blanks b il, upon the ends of the pivot pin 4 and the upward movement of the gripping lingers 128 to obtain a new purchase upon the solder strips, the punches are withdrawn. and the needle that has -just been acted upon is returned into alignment with the series of needles in the feed line, and the needles again advance along the feed line.

The needles operated upon by the mach-v anism A now advance step by step tothe mechanism B, and when they reach a position opposite said mechanism the slide 42 moves them one at a time into the proper position for brazing, while theI needles approaching the mechanism A are successively treated as previously described.

The mechanism at B desirably comprises a pair of holdingr and positioning rollers 137 which admit between them the latch ends of the needles one at a time as they are displaced from the feed line. Immediately at the rear of the rollers 137 is a pair of normally spacd electrodes 138 carried by plungers 139 arranged to slide in bearings 140, said plungers being insulated from said bearings herein by electric non-conducting sleeves 141.

Reciprocating motion is imparted to said electrodes herein by a pair of levers 142 pivoted at points 143 upon the frame 1. The levers 142 carry cam followers 144 at their rear ends, which-are normally retained in operative engagement with oppositely disposed cams 145 by means of a common spring 146 connecting the rear ends of said levers together.

The cams 145 when operated by the shaft 90 upon which they are mounted cause" the electrodes 138 to be simultaneously moved t0- ward each other to engage the protruding ends of the latch pivot pin of the needle at this time positioned by the rollers 137 between said electrodes.

The operating levers 142 each have adjustable and yielding operative engagement with the outer ends of the plungers 139 herein by means including a sleeve 147 fitting tightly the end of the lever 142. Adjacent the plunger end of each sleeve is a slidable shouldered plug 148 protruding therefrom and seating against an insulator 149 in the plunger. An adjustable screw 150, screwthreaded into the other end ofsaid sleeve, provides adjustment for a spring 151 interposed between said screw and the plug 148.

To insure constant contact between the plugs 148 and the adjacent ends of the plungers 139, said plungers are each yieldingly retracted by springs 152 which seat at the inner ends of recesses 153 formed in the bearing brackets 140. Said springs yieldingly engage plungers 154 respectively slidable in said recesses and clamped to the plungers 139 by clamps 155.

Electric current is supplied through the electrodes 138 by means of conductors 156 and 157 connected respectively to the outer ends of the plungers 139, said conductors receiving current from any suitable source such, for example, as a` transformer 158 to which current is controlled through a circuit including wires 159 and 160 by a switch 161.

The switch 161 is herein shown as comprising a rotary switch member 162 mounted to rotate with the shaft 90 in coordination with the cams for operating the herein-before described mechanisms and operating devices.

The rotary switch member 162 is herein cylindrical at one end, and provided at the other end with a helical blade. The cylindrical end is mounted upon a core 163 of insulating material secured to said shaft 90. A brush-161 is in constant contact with the cylindrical portion of said rotary switch member, and a brush 165 is spaced from said brush 161 axially with respect to the shaft 90, said brush 165 being adjustable to and from the brush 16-1, so as to be engaged by the helical rotatable portion 162 of said switch at advanced or retarded points in the rot-ation of said switch member, thereby causing the current to pass through the pivot pin f1 at the desired moment.

The brush 165 is herein mounted upon a rod 166 in turn slidable in a bracket 167 carried by the frame 1. while the brush 164 is supported by a rod 16S of insulating material carried at one end by a support 169 and in slidable engagement at the other end with the rod 166.

The clamping rollers 137 are yieldingly retained in close relation by a spring 170 stretched between levers 171 carrying said rollers, said levers being pivoted respectively at 172 and 173 upon a bracket 174 carried by the frame 1. Desirably these clamping rollers are arranged to be separated automatically to admit at the proper time the insertion of the needles, and for this purpose cams 17 5 mounted upon arms 176 extending respectively from the levers 142 are arranged to engage pins 177 carried by the levers 171 to separate said clamping rollers atthe same time the electrodes 138 are separated.

An adjustable stop 17S is arranged to limit the movement of one of the levers 171 so as to properly position the clamping rollers 137 for the reception of the advancing needle, and a spring 179 maintains said lever in engagement with said stop.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that the blanks of solder b will automatically be formed and suitably positioned upon the latch pivot pins at A, the needles will then be transferred to B, and an electric current be supplied to heat and soften the metal of the pivot pin 4, and melt the solder blanks Z). Furthermore, sufficient pressure Will be supplied by the electrodes to expand the softened pin to till the enlarged opening 112 in the latch. The fusing of the collars of solder surrounding the ends of the pins desirably takes place just as the outer ends of the pin are being expanded by the pressure supplied by said electrodes, thereby causing said ends to be firmly brazed by the fused solder to the walls of the tapered holes 8 in the needle body.

As a result of the above operations, (shown in Fig. 12) the pin and needle body will be united in an integral mass of metal by the ring of brazing material or solder 12', preventing the pivot pins from ever working loose, and providing an enlarged and longer .will not be, caught and broken, and so produce imperfections in the work.

It may be desirable and clearly within the scope of the invention to apply to one or both surfaces of the solder strip a soldering fiux to insure the proper adhesion of the expanded ends of the pivot pin to the needle body.

In Fig. 14 I have shown a modified form of die wherein the inner adjacent faces 180 of said dies project slightly beyond the inner faces 181 of the slotted blockl104, and the dies 102 are provided with radial grooves 182 opening fromthe center apertures of the dies to the outer rims thereof, said grooves being slightly wider'at their mouths to more easily admit the ends of the pivot pins. By providing these grooves 182 the faces 180 of,

said dies may be set closer together or spaced just far enough apart to admit between them the body of the needle, the protruding ends of the pivot pin extending into said dies far enough to prevent the solder blanks from dropping down between the ends of said pivot pin and said dies.

Fig. 15 discloses still another modification wherein the inner ends of the punches 109 are convexly or cylindrically formed at 183 and the inner faces of the dies are made substantially as in the preceding form, that is, projecting slightly within the inner faces of the blockl constituting the groove 103.

By making the punch convex as shown, the blank 184 that is removed from the strip will be slightly elongated as shown in Fig. 16 so that after it has once been pushed by the punch through the die and impaled upon the end of the pivot pin, as shown dotted in- Fig. 15, it being' slightly longer than the diameter of the hole in the die through which it has' just been forced, will be too long to be drawn back through said tlie, but will remain impaled upon the pivot pin.

It will be obvious that by reason of the adjustability of the switch member 162 and cams 145 on the shaft 90 the relations of the current supplying switch to the electrodes 138 may be altered at will and that electric current may be supp-lied concurrently with the application of pressure to the ends of said pivot pins or pressure may be applied in advance of or subsequently to the supplying of said current. Therefore if it is desired slightly to expand the pivot pins to cause themmore completely to fill the perforations 19 before the melting of the brazing material takes place, this may be done without departing from the scope of the .inventioii.

lt will also be observed that the degree of hardness and the type of solder used may vary with the character of the materials to be soldered or brazed together, and that the terms solder or brazing material are used hei-ein interchangeably.

ln a co-pending application `Serial No. 353,085, filed April 6, 1929, is disclosed an article capable of being produced upon` this machine, and in another (jo-pending application Serial No. 192,883, filed May 20, 1927, I have set forth a method capable of being practiced by this machine, but it 'is to be understood that this machine is not limited to the manufacture of said article nor to the practice of the method above referred to.

The invention is not limited to the particular embodiment shown.

Claims:

1.111 combination, means for holding a body having a pivot pin projecting at opposite ends beyond said body, solder feeding means, means to apply solder to the projecting ends of said pivot pin, and means for applying heat and pressure simultaneously to opposite ends of said pivot pin to melt said solder, and expand said pin into recesses formed in said body to receive the same.

2. In combination, means for holding a body having a pivot pin projecting at opposite ends beyond said body, solder feeding means, means to form blanks from said solder and to apply said blanks to the projecting ends of said pivot pin, and means for applying heat and pressure simultaneously to opposite ends of said pivot pin to melt said solder and expand said pin into recesses formed in said body to receive the same.

3. In combination, means for holding a body having a pivot pin projecting at opposite ends beyond said body, solder feeding means, means to impale blanks of solder upon the projecting ends of said pivot pin, and means for simultaneously applying pressure and a current of electricity to opposite ends of said pivot to braze said pivot pin to the body.

4. In a machine for securing latch pivots to needle bodies, the combination of means for holding the needle body with its pivot pin projecting at opposite ends beyond the sides of said body, means for applying solder to said projecting ends, and means to apply an electric current to said pin to soften said pin and melt said solder, and apply pressure to opposite ends of said pin to expand said softened pin into the recesses in said body and to braze said pin and body together.

5. A machine for securing latch pivots to needle bodies, comprising in combination, a needle guide, means for feeding needles along said guide, solder applying mechanism, means for moving needles from operative position relatively to said needle feeding means to and from said solder applying mechanism, said solder applying mechanism including means for forming and placing blanks of solder upon opposite ends of the pivot pins of the needles, brazing mechanism, means to move said needles from said needle guides to and from said solder applying mechanism, and means to apply an electric current and pressure to opposite ends of the pivot pin to melt said solder and to braze the pin to the needle body.

6. In a machine of the character described, needle guides, means to advance needles in parallel relation laterally along said guides, means to interrupt the feeding of said needles at selected points of travel, and means to move said needles one at a time, to and from said guides at said selected points of interruption .in the feeding moven'ients.

1'. In a machine of the character described, needle guides, means to advance needles in parallel relation along said needle guides, said means including a rotating helically' grooved member, means to interrupt the feeding of said needles at selected points of travel, said interrupting means including a cam on said helically grooved member, and a relatively fixed cam follower arranged to effect a bodily axial compensating movement of said member equal to the pitch of said grooved member.

8. In a machine of the character described, a pair of dies spaced apart to receive therebetween a needle carrying a pivot pin protruding slightly from opposite sides of the needle body, means to move said pin into and out of alignment with recesses in said dies, punches arranged adjacent to the outer faces of said dies, means to feed strips of solder between the outer face of each die, and its adjacent punch, and means simultaneously to move said punches toward each other to punch blanks from said strips of solder, and to impal'e said blanks upon the ends of said pin.

9. In a machine of the character described, a pair of dies spaced apart to receive therebetween a needle carrying a latch pivot pin protruding slightly fi'om opposite sides of the needle body, means to move said pin into and out of alignment with recesses in said dies, punches arranged adjacent to the outer faces of said dies, said punches each having a recess in its end to hold a blank, means to feed strips of solder to each of said punches, and means simultaneously to move said punches toward each other to punch blanks from said strips of solder and transfer said blanks to and to impale them upon the ends of said pin.

10. In a machine of the character described, a pair of dies spaced apart to receive therebetween a needle carryinga latch pivot pin Il (l protruding slightly from opposite sides of the needle body, means to move said pin into and out of alignment with recesses in said dies, punches arranged adjacent to the outer faces of said dies, means to feed strips of solder between theouter face of each die, and the adjacent punch, means simultaneously to movesaid punches toward their respectivemdies to punch blanks from said strips of solder, and to impale said blanks upon the protruding ends of said pivot pin, and strip feeding means arranged to obtain new bites upon the strips while said punches are extending through the holes last punched therein.

11. In a machine of the character described, the coinbination of a die, means to feedneedles interlnittently to said die with a latch pivot pin protruding from at least one face of the needle body, and to a position With said protrudinglr end in alignment With the rec-ess in said die, a punch movable to and from said needle in alignment with' said pin, a strip of solder arranged to be fed between said punch and said die, means to move said punch into said die to punch a blank from said strip, and to impale said blank upon the adjacent end of said pin, and means to brazesaid pin to said body.

12. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a pair of dies spaced apart to receive between them a needle having a latch pivot pin protruding beyond the sides of the needle body, means to feed needles to said dies into a position with these pivot pins aligning .with recesses in saidv dies, means to grip and hold a needle in said posit-ion, a punch arranged adjacent to the outer face of each die and in alignment with sai-d pin, means t0 feed strips of solder between each die and its punch, and means to feed said punches toward each other simultaneously to punch blanks from the adjacent strips of j solder, and to impale said blanks upon the adjacent ends of said pivot pin.

13. In a machine of the character described, the combination of solder applying mechanism, brazing and riveting mechanism', means to feed needles from one mechanism to the other, and to interrupt said feeding movement at each mechanism for a space of time suicient to permit said needles severally to be acted upon by the said mechanisms, and cam means to coordinate the feeding, solder applying and brazing operations of said machine.

14. In a machine of the character described,

the combination of mechanism for applying solder to latch needle pivot pins,'means for feeding needles into alignment With said mechanism and gripping jaws arranged to grip the butts of said needles and move them, one at a time, from said position allgning with said mechanism into operative relation thereto.

15. In combination, means forv intermittently feeding needles along a line lateral to the needle stems mechanism arranged along sai-d line to apply lsolder to the latch pivot pins of said needles, means arranged opposite said mechanism for moving one ot' said needles,during an interruption in the feeding of said needles, into operative. relation to said mechanism, a second mechanism spaced from the aforesaid mechanism arranged to braze the ends of said pins to the needle bodies and means, operating simultaneously with the first mentioned needle moving means, for moving one of said needles into operative rclation to said brazing mechanism. i

16. In combination, mechanism for apply-A ing solder to needle latch pivot pins` means .for brazlng said pivot pins to the needle bodies, means for feeding needles intermittently j first to one and then to the other of said mechanisms, and means for feeding a needle to each of said mechanisms simultaneously.

17. In combination, mechanism for applying solder to needle latch pivot pins, means for brazing said pivot pins to the needle bodies, means for feeding needles intermittently first to one and then to the other of said mechanisms, means for feeding a needle to each of said mechanisms simultaneously, and gripping means for each of said mechanisms arranged to grip and hold the needles While being operated upon by said mechanisms.

18. In a machine of the character described, instrumentalities for brazing latch needle pivot pins to needle bodies including a pair of electrodes arranged to be contracted to engage opposite ends of the pivot pins and switch means for regulating the electric current to said electrodes including a rotatable member having a cylindrical part and a part provided with a helical edge, a brush to contact with said cylindrical part and a second brush arranged to contact with said helical part and adjustable with respect to the lirst mentioned brush in a direction parallel with the axis of said rotatable member to vary the point of contact between said second named brush and the helical part of said switch member.

19. In a machine of the character described, a pair of dies spaced apart tov receive between them a needle carrying a pivot pin longer than the thickness of the needle body, punches arranged to pass through said dies to form blanks of solder and impale said blanks upon the ends of said pivot pin, the action of said punches -upon said blanks producing irregularities which, prevent the return of said blanks through said dies upon the withdrawal of the punches.

20. In combination, means for holding a body having a pivot pin arranged in said body, solder feeding means, means to apply solder to opposite ends of said pivot pin and means for 'applying heat and pressure to said ends to melt said solder and expand said pi n into recesses formed in said body to receive the same.

S21. In combination, means for holding a body having a pivot pin arranged transversely thereof, solder feeding means, means to iinpale blanks of solder upon the ends of said pivot pin and means for applying pressure and a current of electricity to opposite ends of said pivot pin to b aze said pivot pin to the body. l

22. In a machine of the character 'described, a pair of dies spaced apart to receive between them a needle carrying a pivot pin unsecured therein, punches arranged to pass through said dies to form blanks of solder and impale said blanks upon the ends of said pivot pin, the action of said punches upon said blanks producing irregularities Which prevent the return of said blanks through said dies upon the withdrawal of the punches.

3. In combination, means for holding a body having a pivot pin inserted transversely thereof, means for applying brazing material to said pivot pin, means for applying pressure to opposite ends of said pivot pin to expand said pin within said body, and means for applying heat to said pin and brazing material to braze said pin to said body.

24. In combination, means for holding a body having a pivot pin inserted transversely thereof, means for applying brazing material to said pivot pin, means for applying pressure to opposite ends of said pivot pin to expand said pin Within said body, and means for fusing opposite ends of said pivot pin to said body through the agency of said brazing material.

25. In combination, means for holding a body having a pivot pin inserted transversely thereof, means for applying` brazing material to said pivot pin, means for applying pressure to opposite ends of said pivot pin to expand said pin Within said body, and means automatically to expand and braze the ends of said pivot pin to said body.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

GEORGE W. MAYO. 

